Poland is a diversified country. Here you can find a sea, mountains, lakes and rivers. Here you can eat different dishes in every region and hear different dialects in most of them.
Poland is so diversified and living here my whole life, I know only a small part of it. I’ve been to the north-east of Poland when I was a child. The only memories I have are jumping up and down from joy before riding a horse and kayaking on a lake with my parents. I was five years old, or even less (mum?).
This year I decided to make up for it and we spent one week discovering Podlasie, the region in eastern Poland. And it surprised me so much! It’s interesting, beautiful, empty and different from the rest of the country in many aspects. It enchanted me. So what to see in Podlasie, eastern Poland?
What to see in Podlasie, Northeastern Poland?
1. Wigry National Park
It’s one of the biggest national parks in Poland and one of the most famous attractions of Podlasie region. It is famous for Wigry lake, the fifth deepest lake in Poland. It’s depth in some points exceeds 70 meters!
You can visit Wigry National Park on foot, by bike, by kayak or sailing. We decided to rent bikes in the park’s headquarters in Krzywe and we rode around the whole Wigry lake. The route is around 50 km long and it took us over 4 hours. The trail is more difficult than I expected. We did more than 1000 meters of elevation! If you decide to do this trail, choose a bike with wide tires. Don’t take a city bike or you will end up stuck in the sand many times.
The trail is outstanding. You can see the lake from many perspectives, you ride along wooden paths over wetlands in deep forests.
You can find the trails map here and their description here (Polish only). Either pitch a tent on Jastrzęby campground like we did or find accommodation anywhere around the lake. It’s going to be picturesque no matter what you choose 🙂
2. The Museum of Augustów canal
Our visit to the museum of Augustów canal was spontaneous. We didn’t plan to go there, we didn’t even want to stop in Augustów. The weather was so terrible though that we had to look for some indoor entertainment.
And that’s great!
Even though the museum is old-fashioned and it lacks all the modern, interactive exhibits, the movie about the canal’s history is played on a TV I only remember from my grandma’s house twenty years ago – I learned a lot!
I had no idea how important Augustów canal was supposed to be for the Kingdom of Poland. At the beginning of XIX century to trade with Great Britain and other European countries, the goods were shipped down Vistula river to the Baltic Sea. But when Prussia took this part of Poland they introduced insanely high customs on all Polish goods making trade impossible. Augustów canal was supposed to give the Kingdom of Poland another way to Baltic sea and help it avoid the customs.
The canal was never finished – the Prussians removed the customs and the canal lost its importance. I’m glad I learned its history though. And learning what tools were used to dig 100 km of the channel with 18 locks still shocks me!
3. Biebrza National Park
The biggest national park in Poland, it covers the whole length of Biebrza river and the marshes along it. It’s a paradise for numerous species of birds. Unfortunately it’s a paradise for mosquitos too. Every time I stopped to take a picture I had over twenty of them on all parts of my body!
But it’s the only disadvantage of Biebrza National Park we noticed.
Except for this we felt enchanted. It was the most empty place we’ve been to in Poland. We walked along the red trail from Leśniczówka Grzędy along the Red Marsh (Czerwone Bagno) through the dunes to an observation tower and we came back with the black trail. It’s 20 km. For this whole way we met one (!) person. A guy living in the same place we did. He didn’t disturb us long – in his rubber shoes up to his thighs he went to the marshes to watch the birds. We didn’t meet anybody except for him. There’s no mobile signal either. Just us, the forest, marshes and birds.
It’s a perfect place to be with yourself and your thoughts only. Check why I love going to the mountains and such places full of amazing nature. The answer lies much deeper than “because it’s beautiful”! Read the article here.
I do recommend the trail – you will see a variety of nature, deep forest, wooden paths above wetlands. You will cross small dunes and you will see typical marshes from an observation tower. An amazing trip. Do take a good insect repellent though!
Map of the trails is available here.
4. The trail of the Tatars
Before going to Podlasie in eastern Poland I had no idea the Tatars live here until now. I knew they appeared here historically. They supported our king John III Sobieski in his fight with the Turks and they received some lands in the east of Poland. But only now I learned what lands. Only now I know that the Tatars are still here and that I can listen to their stories, see their mosques.
In Podlasie there are two touristic trails dedicated to the history of Polish Tatars – The Big Trail of the Tatars (57 km) and The Small Trail of the Tatars (19 km).
Both of them go through a village called Kruszyniany. We visited this one village only but I wish we could spend more time following the Tatars. Unfortunately we haven’t seen a cute wooden mosque in Bohoniki. This little mosque is a religious center of Polish Muslims.
The mosque in Kruszyniany is the oldest Tatar mosque in Poland. It might not be as impressive as the mosque in Saint Petersburg – but it’s beautiful 🙂 It’s made of wood and painted green. You can visit it, the ticket costs 5 PLN. A short history of Polish Tatars told by one of them is included 🙂 You can also visit an old Muslim cemetery nearby and – if you’re tired with all amazing Polish cuisine, try the Tatar cuisine in Tatarska Jurta.
I do recommend you to visit the Tatar area. It’s unique, you won’t find such variety of cultures and religions anywhere else in Poland.
5. Colorful orthodox churches and the Land of Open Shutters
Close to Białowieża Forest you can find four small villages you shouldn’t miss. In three of them you will find amazing orthodox churches with beautiful outside decorations. A week before the trip to Podlasie, eastern Poland we came back from Saint Petersburg and these churches made me wonder – are we still in Russia or did we cross the border with Belarus by accident? 🙂 A few more places which make Podlasie region so fascinating and attractive.
The three villages are Narew, Trześcianka and Puchły.
Trześcianka , Puchły and one more tiny village – Soce belong to the so called Land of Open Shutters. In these three villages you can find decorative wooden houses. Their shutters are especially colorful and cute. It’s another sign of Russian influence in Podlasie.
Aside from beautiful houses and churches, in Puchły and Soce I felt like someone sent me twenty years back in a time-machine. In Silesia where I come from it’s tough to find such villages with no asphalt roads, where you don’t hear noise of cars and you don’t see any new houses built. The only people you can see are middle-aged and elderly people taking care of their property, telling stories:
“Kids left, my son studies in Białystok, my daughter works in Toruń, nobody wants to live with us here, at the end of the world…”